Hi,

here I have a WD10EUCX drive taken out of the WD Elements Desktop USB enclosure.

Symptoms:
- Drive gets detected in BIOS, however Windows either freezes upon booting from another drive if the drive is connected or detects it only as "Hard Drive"
- WD DLG detects it and returns error "0005" with description "Electrical element failure" when performing a quick test

Observations:
- drive spins up normally, after that a single click and a second or two of seconds of normal seeking sound. No obviously abnormal sounds present at all
- the USB board contains INIC-1607P, which is apparently the non-encrypting type

Additional info:
MDL: WD10EUCX-73YZ1Y0
DCM: DANNHT2CAB
DCX: 8y01z0212
R/N: 771698

Any idea what this "electrical element" would refer to? Anything to do with PCB perhaps?

Thanks!

No. Seems just bad blocks but can be (no diagnose performed yet) also heads problem then it's serious. If the bad blocks don't go away ERASING the drive (WARNING !! DESTRUCTIVE OPERATION, IT WILL KILL DATA ON IT) or after that the drive gets sluggish, as you can't RMA it (it was opened!) the unique alternative is professional refurbishing if you really want a working drive (assuming it is possible). Otherwise, discard it.

Everything depends if you need data from it or not.

Thank you.

Unfortunately the data is "needed", so I cannot perform the erase. It doesn't *seem* to be the bad blocks as neither quick or advanced tests in DLG and DFT even start checking the media.

I noticed however that the drive appear to be clicking while the test is being performed. Does this additional symptom change anything?

No.
With professional equipment or in alternative by other ways it is possible to diagnose it perfectly and safely in minutes then decide what to do. Before certain reckless advice make an appearance, if the problem is one kind of head failure or firmware, trying to forcefully clone/scan the drive or fiddle with the firmware can cause a relatively simple problem become a really bad story = drive totally inoperative and/or data loss.

Is the drive detected with its full capacity?

Does DLG report the SMART attributes?

Try gently cleaning the preamp contacts on the PCB with a soft white pencil eraser.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

I had a recent model WD HDD (I forget the exact model #) that was slapping its heads against the spindle with great force. Cleaning the contacts does wonders. Amazing how many strange problems can be fixed with common-sense techniques.

The drive quieted down and has ben functionl ever since

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On a clear disk you can seek forever.

Yes, the drive is detected with its full capacity.

I wasn't able to find the SMART section in the bootable DLG version (as I cannot use the Windows version), however other tools display all the SMART attributes without anything out of ordinary except SMART Error Log, which shows a bunch of "Command aborted" entries.

I have tried cleaning the contacts, unfortunately without any improvement.

Thank you all for your help.

The contact myth, statistically, is pure fiction. It CAN be in 1 out of 200 drives.
In all the thousands drives I have seen, it was effectively ONE of the problems on just a bunch of them but the drives were all spotted with rust so no wonder.

I love to see people buying "SIDOL" or "CRC C-66" or "WD-40" because they have read it on the internet that it can revive their WD drive.

So said, the failure mechanism unfortunately is another. The good part is that with professional tools it is possible to get data out almost non-invasively until heads are not completely toast. The bad is that it is not possible at home.

Agreed.

_________________
http://www.northwind.gr
SandForce SSD Recovery
Ransomware Reverse Engineering - NoMoreRansom! partners

AISI, any non-invasive method is a potential DIY opportunity. It's just a matter of equal access to information. In many cases it's not what you do, but what you know.

BTW, is "almost non-invasively" anything like being just a little bit pregnant?

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

Try cloning your drive, sector by sector, using a tool (eg ddrescue) that knows how to work around bad media.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

Either if you have tools or you have the know-how or both it is something you have.. If you don't have it, you have to live with it. AIAIAI, that's life - and Erich Fromm was an utopist.



HDDs don't get pregnant (yet) but nevertheless get f****d, this is one of the biggest mysteries of the universe . W.H.O. believes that some diseases like the lethal A-DIY-S are spread by datasheets, forums and certain internet sites, a well remembered campaign said, in fact, "don't die of ignorance" ....

JOKES APART, "almost non invasively" means IN ALMOST TOTAL SAFETY and UNDER CONTROL. Of course this exclude the DIY way and the internet free stuff. Access to information has nothing to do with it - can have or buy access to the Space Shuttle list of patents and plans and have the financial capacity to buy the parts but neither in 1 trillion years it will be possible to average joe to build his one.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Unfortunately, none of the tools I had tried were able to retrieve a single byte of data from the drive.

Also, the clicking now seems much worse as after a (short) while it starts clicking and continues to click constantly.

I told you what could happen by the symptoms. Now STOP tinkering with the drive and ask someone who has REAL tools and know how to extract data for you , if it is important. I can help in Italy or I can suggest one person that is nearer to you (always in ITA).